The flu and other viral infections have long been known to cause mood changes, beyond the more familiar symptoms of fever and sore throat. A study in mice, published April 19, 2016 in Immunity, now reveals how the antiviral immune response alters brain activity. Upon infection, brain cells lining blood vessels produce a protein called CXCL10, which impairs neuronal firing in the hippocampus -- a brain region important in learning, memory, and mood.
Brain
Glance out the window and then close your eyes. What did you see? Maybe you noticed it's raining and there was a man carrying an umbrella. What color was it? What shape was its handle? Did you catch those details? Probably not. Some neuroscientists would say that, even though you perceived very few specifics from the window scene, your eyes still captured everything in front of you. But there are flaws to this logic, MIT researchers argue in an Opinion published April 19, 2016 in Trends in Cognitive Sciences. It may be that our vision only reflects the gist of what we see.
HANOVER, N.H. - Virtual and augmented reality have the potential to profoundly impact our society, but the technologies have a few bugs to work out to better simulate realistic visual experience. Now, researchers at Dartmouth College and Stanford University have discovered that "monovision" -- a simple technique borrowed from ophthalmology that dates to the monocle of the Victorian Age - can improve user performance in virtual reality environments.
AMES, Iowa - New research shows harsh parenting may increase a child's risk for poor physical health and obesity as they get older. And attempts by one parent to counterbalance the harsh behavior are not always effective in lessening that risk.
An international team of investigators from Brazil, Scotland and Germany is expanding the research base on the brain's complex suite of connections known as neural networks using computer simulations and a technique called cluster analysis. Basically, they built a computer model of a cat brain's corticocortical network separated into 65 areas and connected by fibers of different densities. The areas were separated into four clusters, or cognitive regions: visual, auditory, somatosensory-motor, and frontolimbic.
The UK has seen a 20% fall in the incidence of dementia over the past two decades, according to new research from England, led by the University of Cambridge, leading to an estimated 40,000 fewer cases of dementia than previously predicted. However, the study, published today in Nature Communications, suggests that the dramatic change has been observed mainly in men.
Picture Earth at the center of a frame. The planet looks unassuming, a fleck, its blue-and-white marbling stark against a black interstellar backdrop. Yet the image likely evokes some reaction.
Now imagine seeing this view from space.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a leading cause of death and disability, has become so common in recent times that it has been called a "silent epidemic." And because older adults are more likely to suffer TBI, have worse outcomes, and are less likely to survive their injury than younger adults, older adults are considered a "silent population" within this epidemic.
Bringing a steady supply of fresh air to the lungs can seem like a simple task, but breathing is a careful orchestration of brain and body.
Diseases like Rett syndrome, central sleep apnea and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome are characterized by breathing difficulties that may be caused by dysfunction in the brain's breathing center. Now, Drexel scientists have introduced a new concept of how the brain is involved in this essential function, providing new insight into how breathing disorders could be treated in the future.
Putnam Valley, NY. (April 19, 2016) - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, often causing lifelong disability for those who survive. Treatment is limited to supportive care, but stem cell therapy has received recent attention as a way to promote recovery for injuries to the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, researchers transplanted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the brains of mice modeled with TBI to investigate whether the hosts' immune systems and the stem cells acting in concert would enhance repair.
Early tests of a novel compound in mice with glaucoma should come as welcome news to millions of people around the world now suffering with this leading cause of vision loss. Researchers reporting in the journal Heliyon have shown that a compound they've developed might help to prevent the nerve damage that leads people with glaucoma to lose their sight.
The only treatments available for glaucoma today include surgery or drugs used to reduce pressure in the eye. However, many patients continue to experience gradual vision loss despite those treatments.
OAK BROOK, Ill. - Timely treatment with endovascular therapy to restore blood flow to the brain significantly improves functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The findings underscore the importance of getting stroke patients to the correct level of care quickly and efficiently, researchers said.
MADISON, Wis. -- People who often mix their media consumption -- texting while watching TV, or listening to music while reading -- are not known for being able to hold their attention on one task. But sharpening their focus may be as simple as breathing.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have shown that heavy media multitaskers benefited from a short meditation exercise in which they sat quietly counting their breaths.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has updated its 2008 guidelines on the use of botulinum toxin for spasticity, cervical dystonia, blepharospasm and migraine headache, based on recent research. The guideline is published in the April 18, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented at the 68th AAN Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.
Today, the University of Alberta and Little Warriors announced the highly anticipated preliminary results of the clinical trials performed at the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch, confirming that the four-week intervention program significantly reduces the psychological impacts of child sexual abuse. As the first intensive program to demonstrate such clinical impact, these results suggest a breakthrough for the lasting mental health of child sexual abuse survivors and for the far-reaching outcomes of this severe trauma.